August placed his hand underneath her shoulder blade and clasped her hand with a certain, familiar gentleness. Audrey rested her free hand on his shoulder as he led her into a waltz. His steps were fluid and graceful as he even twirled her around effortlessly. Audrey was shocked by his skillful precision and dominance that she could barely keep up. The tension between them increased from the intensity of their steps.
“You’re still a wonderful dancer.” She muttered, not caring whether her partner had heard or not.
She shifted her focus and started to scan the ballroom room. She became worried when she couldn’t find the Second Prince, who was nowhere to be found. Recently, nobles were spreading vicious words about Zayden. Compared to the Crown Prince, Zayden was short, skinny, and deathly pale with hair as black as ravens. Despite their contrasting features, Zayden was also hated due to his cold, intimidating appearance that seemed to be filled with arrogance. They threw insults at the Second Prince, believing he was not worthy of his title. This angered Audrey, and she wanted to hide Zayden from the evil gossip.
If they knew what his familiar was, they wouldn’t dare utter these words again!
Sadly, if the people were to discover that the Second Prince’s familiar was a dragon, there would be a bloody fight for the throne. Audrey didn’t want the original story line to come to fruition so she remained silent and grit her teeth. Every insult was an insult to her.
At the same time, August had been watching her every movement, and he deeply misunderstood.
How dare his woman blatantly look for another man right before his eyes! He squeezed her hand and Audrey winced in pain, resting her gaze on him in confusion. He looked more intimidating, and his eyes seemed murderous.
“You. I heard you are close to the Second Prince. My brother.”
Audrey flinched from the way he addressed his own brother. His tone was cold and filled with distaste. She quickly recovered from shock and nodded, realizing that this was the chance to speak with him honestly.
“Your highness, I have been contemplating a lot recently… and I firmly believe that we should end this arranged marriage.” Audrey didn’t notice the Crown Prince frozen in place and spoke quickly. “Truthfully speaking, we are not officially engaged. The Emperor never pressed or bothered to arrange any documents together. Therefore, we have no obligations towards one another or complicated matters to solve if we end this now. Let us publicly end our future engagement, and I will even leave this palace in peace.” She paused before adding, “You will also be able to marry your concubine freely.”
Audrey sighed inwardly in relief and looked past him. She felt as if she had taken a step towards freedom. This offer was extremely beneficial for the both of them. After all, since the Crown Prince loved someone else, he would also be eager to end their engagement. She was filled with excitement, completely confident that his response would be positive.
When she was met with nothing but silence again, she looked up to see his cheeks burning with rage. He released her from his grasp, and they stood in the middle of the dance floor, staring at each other.
August was trying very hard not suppress his anger. He wanted to laugh in disbelief. A few onlookers giggled as they watched the two lovebirds. One was smiling with expectation, while the other lover’s cheeks were flushed.
“Look! They’re lost in each other’s eyes that they stopped dancing altogether.” A lady whispered to another woman. The woman happened to be Lady Irene, who smiled with satisfaction at Audrey’s happiness.
“No.” August’s unexpected answer stunned Audrey.
“W-what? But why?” She stammered.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know why you asked to end ties with me? Do you really believe I would let you run away from me like this?” His words were bitter, and he bore into Audrey’s eyes.
“But I’m suggesting this because we don’t love each other.” Audrey still couldn’t understand why he was sarcastic and vehemently refusing her proposal.
“I wonder if the reason why we don’t love each other is due to the fact that you love someone else.” He continued on.
“No, because you love someone else. You have another woman.” She whispered fiercely.
“I’m the one having an affair?” He scoffed, and couldn’t resist laughing hysterically.
“….” Are you an idiot? Who’s the one with a concubine here? Audrey wanted to ask, yet she didn’t reply. She was nearly gawking.
“What a flimsy excuse. You want to end our engagement because I have another woman?” He burst into laughter. “I am allowed to have multiple concubines. What is so wrong about having another woman when every man is like this? Look at my fathers, my ancestors, the men around us.” He continued to laugh and spread his arms out wide, as if he couldn’t believe her logical reasonings.
Audrey couldn’t help but see him in a different light. Was his ego damaged because I brought up the topic first? Is this really how all men think?
At first, Audrey was utterly speechless. He had the audacity to keep her when he clearly loved Debbie!
What is this man thinking? Why did he bring a concubine? Why did he ignore me so rudely as if he wanted nothing to do with me? Why is he talking like a petty ex-boyfriend? Perhaps…Does he…
Audrey gulped down the lump in her throat and locked her questions away for now. “Your highness wouldn’t want Debbie to be kissed by another man, right? I also wouldn’t want the man I love to be kissed by another woman. Don’t you think it is unfair for me? This is not the only reason why I want to break off our engagement that isn’t even official yet. I just don’t want to be an Empress.” She stood resolute, her face grave and serious.
August felt wronged. “If it wasn’t for-”
Before he could finish his words, Debbie walked over to the couple and stealthily slipped her hands onto his arm.